MakeItShredNo1

On picks and bevels Additional Material: Photo album of all picks used in trial, including a series highlighting bevels https://goo.gl/photos/cR7hP3kuf6HXu23v6 I would embed the photos, but this article is already quite long. I can embed on request. Picks in this trial: .88mm Tortex .88mm Tortex Wedge 1.38mm Jazz III stiffo and carbon fiber 1.4mm Ultex Sharp 1.5mm Tortex TIII (no bevel) 1.5mm Tortex TIII long bevel “sharktooth†1.5mm Tortex TIII short bevel “JIII†Personal experience: Picks up to about 1.0mm with no bevel Used only for comparison. I feel like most players are familiar with these picks. See other articles for more information. .88mm Tortex and Wedge Picks >1.0mm with no bevel Only useable when played perfectly parallel to string. They sound slightly darker than thinner picks. Noticeable increase in fatigue (possibly due to increased drag?). When angling the pick, string noise becomes louder than actual note. Completely unusable. Stock 1.5mm Tortex TIII Picks >1.0mm with long bevel (“sharktoothâ€) My instinct is that these picks would have the shortest time in contact with the string (that is, the string would glide off the string the easiest and fastest). They sound darker than thick picks with no bevel (again, noticeable only when A/Bing). Ultex Sharp and TIII “sharktooth†Picks >1.0mm with short bevel (e.g., Jazz III) Repeated testing shows that it is in fact this bevel that has the shortest string contact. Tone, regardless of material, is the darkest of all - a hair’s breadth darker than the “sharktooth†beveled picks. Jazz IIIs and TIII “short bevel†Reason for this writeup: In searching for a new pick, I found it very difficult to tell if certain picks had a bevel or not from online photos. Sometimes it was very easy to tell, but not always. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were a large guitar shop in driving distance, I could just go try some out for myself. But as many of you know, large guitar shops are increasingly hard to find. There are only “mom and pops†within 50 miles of me. Reason for trial: I have used Jazz IIIs exclusively for many years. I few years ago I discovered the Carbon Fiber Jazz IIIs and have been using them for both live and studio use. Once accustomed to Jazz IIIs, I find them useful them for everything, even acoustic strumming. However, of late I’ve been exploring more fingerstyle playing, and I settled on using a thumbpick but wasn’t happy with any I could find in local stores. So, I bought the Chris Broderick pick clip - however, my beloved Jazz IIIs are too short. So the hunt began for another pick. I knew I liked picks with bevels, but I had no idea how important it was until I ordered some Tortex TIII 1.5mm picks, and to my dismay discovered that they do not have the Jazz III’s bevel (the “TIII†refers only to the angle of the tip - it is otherwise a typical, stamped tortex pick). Trying to use a pick this thick with no bevel proved useless and painful. I generally try to avoid modding my gear - I prefer to find something that comes stock the way I want it (for me this is about being able to duplicate the results - never being dependant on something I did and can’t replicate). However, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, and with a pile of useless picks sitting around, I grabbed a nail file and got busy. A few minutes later I had the “sharktooth†TIII. I was initially pleased with this result. It sounded and felt very similar to the ultex sharps, both in and out of the pick clip. (it is now my go-to when asked to use a pick on bass by a client) Further use left me feeling it “wasn’t quite right,†and that’s when I took a closer look at the jazz III bevel, and found it much shorter and sharper that I thought. Out came the file again, and the result is now my #1 pick. I’ve made a few more, and I can always just grab a ultex sharp (which sounds and feels VERY close) in a pinch. It feels almost exactly like a jazz III, that happens to be compatible with the pick clip. It’s also a little easier to control when strumming (though strumming is a little tricky with the pick clip, because I have so much of the pick in the strings that the bottom of the clip tends to snag the strings, so when I have a whole gig of strumming I take it out of the clip).

Thanks for all your help guys. I think unfortunately I'm going to end up passing because there are too many variables, and ultimately I'm G.A.S.ing harder for a Helix with only so much money to go around. If it was surely a simple and cheap fix I'd have to consider it, but I've been burned by used gear a few times lately and don't feel like the headache right now. Plus, the only certified Line 6 technician in town is super overpriced, so if it did need a repair I can't handle, I'd be out serious money.

I got the owner to reply - he said not only does it seem "stuck on" but that the model select knob doesn't turn at all. I'm not sure if he means that it's difficult to turn, or impossible to turn. He also says that the model selection is functional when connected to a HD500 - the knob doesn't work, but the actual modeling is functional. I don't suppose that narrows down the diagnosis? Assuming I can handle the simple repairs myself - like wedging paper underneath the knob, like I've seen mentioned on this forum - is it now possible to ballpark me a "worst case scenario"? Or still too many variables?

I have a chance to score a JTV69 for a steal, but the model knob is "broke." According to the seller, it seems "stuck in the on position" - I imagine he really means that it's stuck non-depressed, but I can't be sure, as I will not be able to play the instrument before purchasing it and having it shipped to me. I've seen a couple of topics on common problems, but let's say worst case scenario - how much is it gonna cost to fix this if it is the worst possible problem? And if I can't do it myself, what's a ballpark on the labor (which will of course vary from tech to tech - just a round-about number of what I could expect to pay)? I'm curious if this will end up being a good deal that the guy just doesn't want to mess with, or if I should just buy a like-new one.

Yea, taking the Bogner red out of my setup isn't an option. I thought I had it figured out when I reversed the position of the FX Loop and the modeling amp in the chain - placing the FX loop after the amp. But while that did reduce hiss, it was still unacceptably loud. I've been considering getting a bypass system like the Voodoo Labs stuff, but this makes me wonder if it's not something about the Bogner pedal, and I might have the same problem with a system like that...

If I have a gain-y pedal in the FX loop of my HD500, turning the FX Loop off causes the noise level to go up. Specifically I'm using a Bogner Red pedal, and I'm trying to use my HD500 into the power amp of a Fender Deluxe. I'd like to be able to assign the FX Loop and a preamp on the HD500 to A/B, so I can go from a medium gain modeling preamp to the high-gain Bogner with one footswitch. GTR -> HD500, pregain FX - FX out - Bogner red - FX in - HD500 preamp* - post gain FX - main out - Power Amp In Pod set to Combo Pwr Amp So far I've confirmed: The noise is coming from the pedal being in the FX loop. Turning the pedal off always gets rid of the hiss. Patching the FX loop into itself does not cause hiss. Pedal straight into amp does not cause hiss** Hiss happens when the fx loop is set to both line and stomp levels. The hiss goes down when set to stomp, but so does the volume of the pedal (which is no good as I'm using it as a preamp). The hiss also happens if I have BOTH the FX loop and amp enabled but turned off. It does NOT happen if I have either one disabled. *The HD500 modeling preamp and the Bogner red are set to never be on simultaneously. **Unless I have the gain cranked, and even then it causes significantly less hiss than if in the FX loop.